Biologists hired by the Timber Assn. of California asserted Thursday that a new, though incomplete, survey of commercial forests indicates that northern spotted owls thrive in numbers far greater than reported by independent and government scientists. The assertion came during a hearing on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's proposal to protect the owl under the Endangered Species Act--a move that could radically alter the future of the national forests in California, Oregon and Washington.

As shy creatures of quiet places, federally threatened northern spotted owls have little tolerance for the larger, more aggressive barred owls moving into their ancient forests in the northwestern United States. Trouble is, ousted spotted owls are colonizing less suitable habitat elsewhere, lowering the probability of successfully producing young, according to a study by U.S. Geological Survey and U.S. Forest Service biologists recently published in the journal Ecology. The situation has become so desperate that federal biologists are considering efforts to remove, or kill, some of the barred owls occupying the old growth forests of Oregon, Washington and Northern California, Charles Yackulic, USGS research statistician and lead author of the study, said.

Scott Gremel makes his way swiftly and surely up the steep trail, across a frigid stream, through the colossal stands of hemlock and Douglas fir. On the ridgeline, thousands of feet above where he left his truck on the valley floor, Gremel points the antenna on his tracking device toward the next valley. A faint ping responds, the radio tag of a single barred owl that has laid claim to two entire valleys.

Scott Gremel makes his way swiftly and surely up the steep trail, across a frigid stream, through the colossal stands of hemlock and Douglas fir. On the ridgeline, thousands of feet above where he left his truck on the valley floor, Gremel points the antenna on his tracking device toward the next valley. A faint ping responds, the radio tag of a single barred owl that has laid claim to two entire valleys.

Steve Rood was on a last tour through the old Sweet Home Sawmill, hopping down creaking catwalks to look at a cannibalized edging saw. "It is no fun seeing it this way," he said, and sighed. Rood will not have to look for long at the idled mill in the heart of town. Workmen already were busy dismantling the massive old building plank by plank, setting aside the pieces to meet an inglorious end as free firewood.

In a decision hailed by environmentalists as a victory for the spotted owl and for open government, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that secret communications between the White House and a special committee that makes decisions on endangered species are illegal. The U.S.

For the second consecutive year, a federal judge has ruled that the Bush Administration is not living up to its legal obligations to protect the threatened spotted owl and ordered a sweeping ban on timber sales in the national forests of coastal Northern California, Oregon and Washington. Last year when Judge William Dwyer issued such an injunction, timber companies enjoyed a healthy backlog of previously approved timber allotments, so logging went on pretty much as usual.

As shy creatures of quiet places, federally threatened northern spotted owls have little tolerance for the larger, more aggressive barred owls moving into their ancient forests in the northwestern United States. Trouble is, ousted spotted owls are colonizing less suitable habitat elsewhere, lowering the probability of successfully producing young, according to a study by U.S. Geological Survey and U.S. Forest Service biologists recently published in the journal Ecology. The situation has become so desperate that federal biologists are considering efforts to remove, or kill, some of the barred owls occupying the old growth forests of Oregon, Washington and Northern California, Charles Yackulic, USGS research statistician and lead author of the study, said.

Avoiding a bitter environmental fight in the Pacific Northwest, the U.S. Supreme Court let stand Monday an appeals court ruling that threw out a key argument in lawsuits seeking to block harvesting of ancient forests. The justices, without comment, declined to review a ruling by the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals last September against the Audubon Society and the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund in a series of lawsuits aimed at restricting logging on public lands.

In a story familiar to residents of the Pacific Northwest, loggers in New Mexico are afraid more timber-cutting restrictions aimed at protecting a species of owl will cost them their livelihood. Northwest logging jobs are in danger because of the northern spotted owl. In New Mexico, the bird in question is the Mexican spotted owl. Federal authorities are split on whether the Mexican owl faces as severe a threat as its northern cousin and needs more protection than it now gets.

The late afternoon sun slants through the dense canopy of Deschutes National Forest by the time Lauri Turner reaches the spot where she last heard the harsh cry of a northern spotted owl. Turner, a Forest Service wildlife biologist for the Sisters Ranger District, slips off her backpack and waits as her colleague, Kris Hennings, carefully deposits his carrier containing five live mice on the dirt path.

There's still a small sign in the middle of town that reads, "Welcome to Forks, Logging Capitol of the World." But a truer sign of the times--two signs, really--can be found 40 feet away at a shop run by Chamber of Commerce President Bonnie Anderson and her husband, Howard. "Northwest Select Gifts" says a wooden placard over the door. "Anderson Electric" says a neon sign in the window. Knickknacks fill the store's front half. Shelves heaped with tools, wires and switches fill the back.

In a decision hailed by environmentalists as a victory for the spotted owl and for open government, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that secret communications between the White House and a special committee that makes decisions on endangered species are illegal. The U.S.

For the second consecutive year, a federal judge has ruled that the Bush Administration is not living up to its legal obligations to protect the threatened spotted owl and ordered a sweeping ban on timber sales in the national forests of coastal Northern California, Oregon and Washington. Last year when Judge William Dwyer issued such an injunction, timber companies enjoyed a healthy backlog of previously approved timber allotments, so logging went on pretty much as usual.

In a story familiar to residents of the Pacific Northwest, loggers in New Mexico are afraid more timber-cutting restrictions aimed at protecting a species of owl will cost them their livelihood. Northwest logging jobs are in danger because of the northern spotted owl. In New Mexico, the bird in question is the Mexican spotted owl. Federal authorities are split on whether the Mexican owl faces as severe a threat as its northern cousin and needs more protection than it now gets.

On a steep mountainside above the meandering Smith River, dozens of Douglas firs that have been growing since George Washington was President tower over a small parcel of public forest. All around, large swaths of the forest have been cut down, but here in a 31-acre island of trees, firs as tall as 180 feet provide shade and shelter for elk, bald eagles and, perhaps, the endangered spotted owl. The trees and creatures have survived fires, storms and the logger's chain saw. Now this patch of federal forest has become part of a political debate in Washington, D.C., and a test of the Endangered Species Act. Officially, the tract is known as the Clabber Creek Unit and is one of 44 proposed timber sales in the public forests of southwestern Oregon that have become embroiled in the long-running battle over protection of the spotted owl. In a dispute that has pitted two federal agencies against each other, the Bureau of Land Management wants to log all 44 parcels--4,570 acres of virgin forest--to help maintain the economy of the region.

Interior Secretary Manuel Lujan Jr. is choosing his words more carefully these days. His earlier off-the-cuff remarks on everything from cattle grazing on federal lands to the Alaska oil spill provided his critics with ample ammunition during his first 18 months in President Bush's Cabinet. Some of these critics have even raised questions about his ability to run one of the government's oldest, most broad-reaching and powerful departments. "Manuel thinks out loud, and that causes some difficulty once in a while," acknowledges John Schrote, a top aide who has known Lujan for two decades.

There's still a small sign in the middle of town that reads, "Welcome to Forks, Logging Capitol of the World." But a truer sign of the times--two signs, really--can be found 40 feet away at a shop run by Chamber of Commerce President Bonnie Anderson and her husband, Howard. "Northwest Select Gifts" says a wooden placard over the door. "Anderson Electric" says a neon sign in the window. Knickknacks fill the store's front half. Shelves heaped with tools, wires and switches fill the back.

Interior Secretary Manuel Lujan Jr. is choosing his words more carefully these days. His earlier off-the-cuff remarks on everything from cattle grazing on federal lands to the Alaska oil spill provided his critics with ample ammunition during his first 18 months in President Bush's Cabinet. Some of these critics have even raised questions about his ability to run one of the government's oldest, most broad-reaching and powerful departments. "Manuel thinks out loud, and that causes some difficulty once in a while," acknowledges John Schrote, a top aide who has known Lujan for two decades.

Avoiding a bitter environmental fight in the Pacific Northwest, the U.S. Supreme Court let stand Monday an appeals court ruling that threw out a key argument in lawsuits seeking to block harvesting of ancient forests. The justices, without comment, declined to review a ruling by the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals last September against the Audubon Society and the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund in a series of lawsuits aimed at restricting logging on public lands.